Lifestyles And Attractions

Monday, 30 July 2012

India is a land of traditions,
customs, festivals, celebrations and rich history. Each and every corner of
India is soaked in charm and elegance. It is a land of diversity and paradoxes.
Home to one of the most ancient civilisations of the world and numerous
religions, races, caste groups and more than billion population belonging to
different ethnicity and caste group, India is a truly magical country. One
thing that separates India from the rest of the world and makes it unique and distinct
is its culture. The culture of India clearly reflects in the lifestyle of its
people, its historical monuments and buildings and its festivals.

Religion is one of the very
important aspects of the life of Indians. It places significant influence on their
social life. And since they are very religious and spiritual, they have equally
majestic and marvellous temples where they offer prayers and devotion to their
gods. The Indian temples are a reflection of its rich history and people’s deep
devotion to god. It reflects the nature and characteristics of the Indians.
Hinduism, which is considered the oldest religion of the world originated in
India, thousands of years ago. It is a religion which has elaborate rituals,
customs and traditions. And since majority of the Indians are Hindus, who
worship their gods in temples there are hundreds of temples in India. The
Hindus have about 33 crore gods, and they worship each and every one of them
with great devotion. They have temples for them, festivals for them and special
days where they worship them and offer various offerings and sacrifices. Every
Hindu household will usually have small prayer room where the entire family do
puja every day. Besides this they also visit temples, located far and wide in
the country to experience peace and spirituality.

The Indian temples are a marvel
in themselves. Some of them, built in ancient days by the kings are very grand
and marvellous. They are built using extensive architectural design and
excellent craftsmanship. Some of them even have beautiful paintings on their
walls and ceilings. Hence these temples are not only holy places, but also of
great interests for architects and art enthusiasts. These kinds of temples are
usually found in the southern part of India like the Meenakshi Temple in
Madurai, the Tirupati Balaji temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh etc. Another
important feature of the temples in India is its locations and mythological
importance. They are always built at places which have historical and spiritual
importance. The cave temples are also quite popular and considered highly
religious like the Amarnath Temple in Jammu dedicated to Lord Shiva. There are
also various temples dedicated to goddesses which are located all over the
country. The temples in Indian are visited by thousands of devotees every year
who go on a pilgrimage. They go with their families, friends or sometimes even
alone. What matters to them is their devotion and faith. All this is due to the
spiritual values deeply embedded in the life and mind of the Indians.

Friday, 27 July 2012

India is a country of diversity
and paradoxes. There are multiple religions, races, caste groups, class groups,
rituals, customs, traditions, languages, food, behaviours, attitude of the
people etc. Indian civilisation is one of the oldest in the world, and their
contribution towards the shaping of the world culture and civilisation is well
known and well documented. From the invention of numbers to breakthrough in
science and technology, Indians have done it all. It has also been invaded,
looted and plundered by manyforeign
rulers who have either taken the wealth and went away or have stayed back to
rule the Indians, thereby impacting their lifestyle and living conditions. These
foreign rulers have also contributed to the development of the nation in many
ways and set it on path of modernity. Different conflicting forces and their
existence at the same place, in total harmony is what defines Indian and exerts
important influence on Indian Lifestyle.

Lifestyle in India is deeply influenced by the religion, caste and
class one belongs to. It shapes their habits, manners, attitude to others,
their social, political and sometimes even economic life. Hinduism, which is
the oldest religion in the world, was born in India. Even though India is a
secular country, it has a large number of Hindu populations and thus Hindu way
of lifestyle sometimes becomes synonymous with Indian Lifestyle. However changes caused due to the existence of
other religions can also be seen. Caste system which is a very important aspect
of Hinduism impacts the life of majority of Indians in many ways. Their status
in society is defined according to the caste they belong to. Usually the high caste
like Brahmins enjoys greater facilities and privileges, whereas the lower castes
like the untouchables live in very difficult social conditions. Caste which
divided people into various groups based on their profession later took the
rigid form and hierarchied the Indian society into high and low ranks. Even
though the constitution of India abolished such discriminatory practices, it
still remains a stark reality in the social life of many Indians.

With the onset of modernity the
country has not been immune to the forces of westernisation. It has had
considerable impact on the lifestyle in
India. Today many people have shed their superstitions and dogmas and have
embraced modernity discarding many negative and detrimental aspects of Indian
culture,

like the practice of sati, child
marriage etc. They have now opened their mind to more egalitarian practices
like equality for women, widow remarriage, valuing the girl child etc. Indians have
a very simple lifestyle where they live by their values. They have a strong
sense of family bonding, respect for the elders, love for the younger ones,
belief in god, sense of belonging to a community etc. All these values and
virtues of Indians make them different from the rest of the world. Indians
children live with their parents even after marriage in joint families. However
due to westernization Indians have been losing a lot of such values which may
not be good for the Indians in the long run.

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My name is Ann Sebastian. I am blogger and i like to travel. I would like to share my travel experience through this blog. I would like to invite you to be part of My travel through this blog. Thanks for your valuable support and love. "Destinations are waiting for Me"..!!